Former president ordered to stand trial as the ‘intellectual author’ of the attacks, which killed 6 Jesuits and two laypeople
El Salvador has ordered a former president to stand trial for the 1989 murders of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her 16-year-old daughter — a notorious crime from the Central American country’s civil war, which has languished in the realm of impunity.
A judge in San Salvador issued a Nov. 18 decision ordering former president Alfredo Cristiani, a former congressman, and nine others to stand trial as the intellectual authors of the attack on the Jesuits. Cristiani, who was president between 1989 and 1994, was charged with murder, conspiracy and terrorism in 2022. His whereabouts remain unknown, according to media reports.
The priests were killed by soldiers in their residence on the campus of the Jesuit-run Central American University — an institution they accused of being infiltrated by guerrillas. The university has long rejected that accusation and demanded justice for the eight victims.
It’s believed the attack targeted university rector, Jesuit Father Ignacio Ellacuría, in an attempt to scuttle peace talks he was leading. Two former soldiers have been convicted for their part in the slayings in Spanish and Salvadoran courts. The lead prosecutor in the trial of Col. Inocente Orlando Montano — sentenced in 2020 to 133 years in prison — said Cristiani “was actively protecting soldiers and covering up evidence.”
Catholics in El Salvador expressed mixed feelings on the decision to bring Cristiani to trial.
“Beyond the results, the ideal (outcome) is the judge orders the army to request forgiveness for what was an institutional crime,” Jesuit Father José María Tojeira said in a Nov. 20 X post. “(It’s been) 35 years of the (armed forces) not taking responsibility for the crime.”
A Catholic source in El Salvador described politics at play in the decision to bring Cristiani to trial. President Nayib Bukele was elected in 2018 after widespread discontent with the politicians who preceded him. Bukele continues campaigning against his predecessors, including Cristiani, according to the source.
“He’s using the case of the Jesuits to go after his political opponents. It has very little to do with actually getting justice in the case of the Jesuits,” the source said.
